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Apparently, I could have gotten one with Gizmo5 back when I signed up with them, but I didn't know. Oh well, it's still neat!

The number starts, as expected, with 883, followed by 1 and a bunch of zeroes. The last seven digits spell I-FIB-BOB (or I-FIB-ANA), if you consider 1 to be I. Alright, it’s not that easy to remember, but it’s not bad for a number that’s completely free and portable, being untied to any particular country. Such numbers are HD-enabled and SMS-reachable from the following carriers:

Canada: Bell Mobility, Fido, Rogers, WIND

UK: Orange, Vodafone

USA: T-Mobile

access numbers

Though a great idea, the numbers are not reachable from all the carriers yet. Fortunately, there are local access numbers in 45 countries, meaning that these numbers can be accessed at the cost of a local call.

Country

City

Access Number

Argentina

Buenos Aires

+54 1159839500

Australia

Sydney

+61 280148200

Austria

+43 720880500

Bahrain

+973 16199200

Belgium

Brussels

+32 28081771

Brazil

Rio De Janeiro

+55 2135219966

Brazil

Sao Paulo

+55 1137119355

Bulgaria

Sofia

+359 24917555

Canada

Calgary

(403) 775-1446

Canada

Edmonton

(780) 669-9257

Canada

Halifax

(902) 982-6937

Canada

London

(519) 488-9336

Canada

Montreal

(514) 907-7500

Canada

Ottawa

(613) 686-4519

Canada

Quebec City

(418) 8000384

Canada

Toronto

(416) 800-4303

Canada

Toronto

(647) 724-8777

Canada

Vancouver

(778) 786-3497

Canada

Winnipeg

(204) 272-8182

Chile

Santiago

+56 25813444

Croatia

Zagreb

+385 17776363

Cyprus

Nicosia

+357 22030500

Czech Republic

Prague

+420 246019777

Denmark

+45 69918686

El Salvador

+503 21131899

Estonia

+372 6681881

Finland

Helsinki

+358 942419200

France

Paris

+33 170619800

Georgia

Tbilisi

+995 32473846

Greece

Athens

+30 2111768444

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

+85258080177

Hungary

Budapest

+36 19980500

Ireland

Dublin

+353 15262600

Israel

Tel Aviv

+972 37219555

Italy

Rome

+39 0662207777

Japan

Tokyo

+81 345209777

Latvia

+371 67652500

Luxembourg

+352 20880108

Malta

+35627780107

Mexico

Guadalajara

+52 3346242977

Mexico

Mexico City

+52 5511678222

Netherlands

Amsterdam

+31 208080808

New Zealand

Auckland

+64 99250499

Norway

Oslo

+47 21031306

Panama

+507 8322488

Peru

Lima

+51 17085500

Poland

Warsaw

+48 223982688

Puerto Rico

Bayamon Norte

(787) 395-7140

Romania

+40 318103500

Singapore

+65 31581212

Slovakia

Bratislava

+421 233002555

Slovenia

Ljubljana

+386 16001422

Spain

Madrid

+34 911883777

Sweden

Stockholm

+46 852500111

Switzerland

Zurich

+41 435006262

United Kingdom

London

+44 2033556363

United States

Chicago

(312) 253-4880

United States

Houston

(713) 474-2323

United States

Los Angeles

(213) 221-3799

United States

New York

(646) 843-6969

United States

Phoenix

(602) 354-9444

United States

San Diego

(619) 330-9640

United States

San Francisco

(650) 360-0999

history and related

A few years ago, the International Telecommunication Union created two country codes (882 and 883) to “serve as a catch-all for telephone services not dedicated to a single country”. These are not the only such “pseudo-country-codes”; here’s a few more similarly “exotic” codes: